Music Production Forum

Native Instruments is embracing the season of goodwill with an impressive Holiday Season Sale. The Native Instruments Holiday Season Sale is packed with huge discounts, a free expansion pack, and even a $25 voucher to spend on anything you like. The developer’s deal of the year is a whopping 50% discount on full versions of [...] View post: Get 50% OFF NI Komplete and a FREE Leap expansion of choice View the full article

Warp Records and Aphex Twin have released 'Music From The Merch Desk (2016 - 2023)', a new album that compiles tracks that were previously made available as singles at his live shows.… Read More Aphex Twin – Music From The Merch Desk (2016 – 2023)View the full article

Synthesist and author Chris Meyer (Learning Modular, Patch & Tweak) has created a series of videos, demonstrating the prize in The Bob Moog Foundation's latest fundraising raffle, a $20,000 Eurorack monster synth.… Read More You Could Win This $20,000 Eurorack Monster Synth – But First, Check Out What It Can Do!View the full article

Owners of the Erica Synth PERKONS HD-01 can look forward to a firmware update! Among other things, the new version 1.2 allows you to import your own samples into the hybrid drum machine’s Rompler engine. The Erica Synths PERKONS HD-01 gets even more versatile with the firmware update 1.2. The most important new feature: for the first time it is possible to replace the factory samples of the Rompler engine with your own samples. The samples must be stored as WAV files in mono and 48 kHz / 16 bit on an SD card and named according to a specific scheme. The total size must not exceed 256 kB. When booting, the PERKONS loads the samples into the 3rd algorithm of VOICE 4. It is …

Which new stage pianos and arranger keyboards impressed us the most in 2024? From entry-level home keyboards to professional stage pianos, there was something for everyone this year. Let’s take a look at the best new stage pianos and keyboards of the year... The post Best Stage Pianos and Arranger Keyboards of 2024 appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

Modern production tools can create almost any sound, but sometimes the old ones are the best. Despite being around for centuries, the piano hasn’t lost its power to charm us. Fortunately, harnessing this timeless sound no longer means finding space for an enormous instrument in your home or studio. The best piano plugins offer extraordinarily lifelike pianos in software form, letting you play on legendary concert grands, idiosyncratic uprights, vintage electric keyboards, and virtually any other piano you can imagine. So which piano is right for you? In this article, we’ll run through twelve of the best piano VSTs available from Native Instruments, with …

Arturia today introduced Minifreak firmware 3.0, a massive free update that adds 8 new synthesis engines, granular-focused samples, an expanded factory bank, and more.… Read More Arturia MiniFreak 3.0 Update Adds 8 New Synthesis Engines & MoreView the full article

Chris SD knows what an effective studio setup entails. After working on albums for the likes of Bryan Adams and Kris Kristofferson, before being recruited as the in-house producer for roots rock band Blue Rodeo, the award-winning Canadian producer gives us insight into the gear that has shaped his career and has developed his talents as an engineer. The multi-talented producer sits down with MusicTech to digest all of the expertise he has collected over his nearly three decades in the industry, and how it has shaped him in the studio... The post “I haven’t met anyone who heard the hardware equivalent of a plugin and didn’t wonder what they’ve been missing” Chris SD on the…

Waldorf today officially introduced the Blofeld Plugin, a software version of their classic Blofeld hardware synthesizer.… Read More Waldorf Blofeld Plugin & Patch Editor Now AvailableView the full article

Moog Music has released firmware update v1.3.0 for Muse, an update that delivers system-wide optimizations to improve latency, Diffusion Delay audio fidelity, velocity response, and Mod Map behavior.… Read More Moog Muse Update Brings Reduced Latency, Improved Delay & MoreView the full article

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and you know what that means: Three more free AmpliTube 5 CS gear giveaways to close out the year! For December, IK Multimedia is giving away the Leslie 122A amp and matching cab, Chorus-1 stomp (based on the Boss CE-1), and Phazer 10 stomp (based on the [...] View post: IK Multimedia offers 3 FREE Vintage AmpliTube 5 CS Effects View the full article

Ruismaker (Bram Bos) has introduced Solderbox, a ompact semimodular synthesizer for iOS, made in collaboration with synthesist and mobile music making guru Jakob Haq.… Read More Bram Bos Intros Solderbox Compact Semi-Modular Synthesizer For iOSView the full article

Xils Lab today shared a teaser for a new virtual instrument, The Eighty, that promises to capture the iconic Blade Runner sound of the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer.… Read More Xils Labs The Eighty Promises To Nail The Classic ‘Blade Runner’ Yamaha CS-80 SoundView the full article

GForce Software today introduced IconDrum - a new virtual instrument based on the classic LinnDrum drum machine.… Read More GForce IconDrum Brings LinnDrum Drum Machine To Your DAWView the full article

Could you now score a film with your iPhone or iPad? … Read More Steinberg Iconica Sketch Puts An Orchestra In Your PocketView the full article

Teenage Engineering recently surprised us with the release of the OP-XY. The first videos and sound samples of what the developers describe as an ‘all-rounder’ in terms of sequencing and sound design had me hooked, and I had to test the hardware in my studio, but also on the road as a creative music machine. And it was a complete success – despite the high price that many have criticised. So here is my short review... The post Teenage Engineering OP-XY: Review appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

The Behringer LM Drum is not designed to be a knockoff or clone of the original LinnDrum. Instead, it's an original sampling drum machine that features samples from the LM1, LM1, LM9000 and other drum machines, an 8/12-bit sampling sound engine, and a look inspired by the LinnDrum.… Read More Behringer LM Drum Sampling Drum Machine Now ShippingView the full article

We live in exciting times for the music industry. New technologies, shifting social habits, and global upheaval mean that the music world is changing fast. The rules that have governed the industry for decades are dissolving, and weird and wonderful new genres, formats, and production tools are popping up all over the place. 2025 is sure to bring uncertainty – but also plenty of opportunities. Here are our guesses for what the future of music might hold. From bold new genres to cutting-edge production tools, there are our nine music industry trends to look out for in 2025... The post 9 music trends to look out for in 2025 first appeared on Native Instruments Blog. …

Here's a 'shut up and play' style video demo of the new Behringer Wave synthesizer.… Read More Shut Up & Play: Sounds Of The Behringer Wave SynthesizerView the full article

Loopcloud has kicked off the holiday season with a $48 deal that allows you to score 11 free plugins worth a total of $471 with any Loopcloud annual subscription plan. The Loopcloud offer ends on January 6, 2025, and by starting a subscription, you’ll also get access to four million sounds and the various features [...] View post: Get 11 plugins worth $471 for only $48 With Loopcloud View the full article

KV331 Audio’s SynthMaster 2 Player, a rompler with 2000 factory presets, is now available for free throughout December 2024 instead of the usual asking price of $29. SynthMaster 2 Player is a Windows (32/64-bit) and macOS (64-bit only) release for VST, AAX, and AU (macOS only). The instrument is also available as an AU format [...] View post: KV331 Audio SynthMaster 2 Player 2ith 2000 presets is FREE This Month View the full article

Baby Audio is back with another freebie, and this one, Warp, comes from the outstanding Transit 2 transition designer and multi-FX plugin. Baby Audio has delivered some awesome freebies, like Pitch Drift, Magic Dice, and Magic Switch, over the years. The popular developer is also known to discount premium plugins like TAIP, Super VHS, and [...] View post: Baby Audio releases Warp, a FREE vari-speed pitch effect from Transit 2 View the full article

Native Instruments holiday sale offers a wide range of deals, including $19 virtual synths, 20% off on their new Conflux hybrid synth, 50% off Massive X and Komplete 15, 90% off of the 8Dio Epic Symphony Bundle - plus deals on NI hardware.… Read More Native Instruments Holiday Sale Features Up To 90% Off On Software & Hardware, Freebies & MoreView the full article

From massive analog polys to affordable digital delights, we couldn’t get enough of these seven stellar synthesizers this year. These are truly the best hardware synths of 2024... The post Best Hardware Synths of 2024: 7 Synths We Went Nuts for This Year appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

Looking for a way to get into FM synthesis? We’ve selected some of the best FM synths that offer both sound design and song-creation tools with built-in sequencers and effects... The post The Best FM Synths for your Music Production Setup appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

Supercritical Synthesizers has announced that the Redshift 6 Variable Character Synthesizer is now available.… Read More Supercritical Synthesizers Redshift 6 Synthesizer Now Available – Here’s What It Sounds LikeView the full article

Effective FX is an independent, experimental audio tech studio based in Baltimore, Maryland. Their latest release is Poltergeist, a free experimental modulation effect for macOS and Windows. Poltergeist is a multi-stage effect that definitely fits the experimental category. The plugin generates fractal-like phasing patterns using the incoming audio at multiple stages. That short description already [...] View post: Effective FX releases FREE Poltergeist experimental modulation effect View the full article

From @synthandsoftware - It’s a spectral synth plug-in with additive resynthesis, FM, and spatialization If you’re the kind of person who likes to bring otherworldly sounds into this world, here’s a synth for you. Check out some of the demos (you can skip around and get a feel for the sounds). It’s definitely wild! Here’s the company release: […] The post Madrona Labs Sumu Synth Turns Samples Into Dynamic Soundscapes appeared first on Synth and Software. View the full article

Waldorf is teasing some new Blofeld software....… Read More Waldorf Teases Blofeld SoftwareView the full article

Here's a look at the rare EMS VCS4 synthesizer.… Read More A Look At The Rare EMS VCS4 SynthesizerView the full article